Painting Exhibit Documents Live Performances of the Chicago Jazz Scene at West Chicago's Gallery 200 in May

The charcoal drawing by artist Lewis Achenbach captures the call and response between free jazz musicians Edward Wilkerson and Vincent Davis during a recent gig at MultiKulti in Chicago. The image is part of the exhibit "Prestissimo, Preciosismo," a series of documentary paintings of jazz performances at Gallery 200, 200 Main Street, West Chicago throughout May 2013.Lewis Achenbach

Krista Coltrin

Artist Lewis Achenbach captures live free jazz performances in a unique style of art which he refers to as "documentary painting." His collection of paintings, titled "Prestissimo, Preciosismo," consists of various musicians as seen and heard in intimate clubs throughout Chicago during the last year. His exhibit will be on display from May 2 -- 31, 2013 at Gallery 200, 200 Main Street, West Chicago.

What began one year ago as a visit to hear musician Vincent Davis at Multikulti, a multicultural community arts center in Chicago, has turned into a passionate series of paintings that capture the essence of live free jazz performances in intimate settings throughout Chicago. These paintings essentially freeze a "musical moment" in time.

To better understand the scenes he portrays, one first must understand the genre of music Achenbach attempts to capture. "Free jazz" is an approach to jazz music where the musicians break down the traditional conventions of the music and often alter tempos or traditional chord changes. The result is an emphasis on collective improvisation. Achenbach refers to his paintings as a sort of "contained chaos," where he captures the call and response, or back and forth, between the musicians in the room and then contains the image within the boundaries of the canvas.

The title of the exhibit expresses Achenbach's thoughts about how he incorporates a barrage of sensory details into his paintings. "Prestissimo" is an Italian word relating to rapid tempo and is often associated with music. "Preciosismo" is a preoccupation with glittering surfaces, a Spanish term he found in a Picasso biography by John Richardson. According to Achenbach, the two words together "describe the high-energy, rapid execution of painterly lines combined with the high art elevation of preciousness or high gloss value I tend to put in my works. A shiny surface makes the gritty Chicago jazz club documentation seem more legit."

Achenbach chooses to work with charcoals and acrylic paints, as they are media that lend themselves to rapid drawing and can be immediately portable after the performances. Some of the paintings are colorful and large and some are small and black and white, depending on the venue and the musicians' comfort levels with the amount of space he occupies in the audience during their performances.

He then goes one step further, bridging the gap between the intimacy of a live performance and the immediacy of the internet. After documenting the live performance, he photographs the painting and posts it directly to Facebook before leaving the venue. "It's 2013. I want people to know what it's like to be in Chicago at midnight on a Thursday night," said Achenbach.

Previously, Achenbach has worked as an illustrator for an independent animation studio, a muralist painting children's images in private homes, and alongside his father during a return to his home in Pennsylvania, in the behavioral health field using art as therapy.

He currently works as a painting contractor by day, but views his efforts to document the Chicago jazz scene as time well spent. Referencing his artwork posted online, Achenbach said, "I think this will pay off. I've been asked if there are prints available and I hope that it leads to further commissioned work."

Although Achenbach is currently a Wheaton, Illinois, resident, he feels very connected to West Chicago. He previously had an art studio in West Chicago and is a current member of Gallery 200, a local artists' co-op supported by the City of West Chicago. In January 2013, he was appointed to the West Chicago Cultural Arts Commission. Said Achenbach, "Serving on the Cultural Arts Commission is a way to get your finger on the pulse of the community and see where your skills fit in."

The artist will be available during a series of events in West Chicago throughout the month of May. Starting off the month is a free Opening Reception on Friday, May 3, 2013 from 6:00 - 9:00 p.m. at Gallery 200. The public is invited to meet the artist and witness a live, documentary painting of musicians Kelsey Schmidt and Rachel Schuldt, along with vocalist Kate Reeder, as they provide entertainment. La Sirenuse, as the group is called, will perform both as soloists and collectively throughout the evening.

During West Chicago's Blooming Fest on Saturday, May 18, 2013, the artist will be available at Gallery 200 from 9:00 -- 11:00 a.m. to discuss his exhibit in conjunction with demonstrations by other member artists. Additionally, from 11:00 a.m. -- 1:00 p.m., he will be part of a large scale "project piece" of a live drawing of performances on the entertainment stage during the event. This painting and other art installations positioned throughout the fest are part of artXposium, an interactive and multimedia art experience made possible by People Made Visible.

A Closing Reception is scheduled for Friday, May 31, 2013 from 6:00 -- 9:00 p.m. and will be a formal showcase for the works created at Blooming Fest and any additional documentary paintings completed during May.

Gallery 200 is a cultural initiative supported by the City of West Chicago and the West Chicago Cultural Arts Commission, and is one more reason West Chicago was named an Illinois Arts Friendly Community in 2007. Gallery 200 is open Thursday and Friday from 12:00 to 8:00 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday from 12:00 to 4:00 p.m. For more information, including a complete list of current art classes, call (630) 293-9550 or visit www.gallery200.org.